The Amazing Race 10, October 22nd – Phil, How Do We Get To Kuwait

We didn’t make it out of Asia last week, but we’re making headway as we moved into India. Will this week be when we finally make it off the continent? David and Mary are probably hoping for some major airline time, as that will help them make up some time. They came in last to the pit stop last week, but were saved by a non-elimination round. The new rules state that unless they come in first this week, they’ll be penalized for thirty minutes. It may not hurt them too much by being second to last; it may eliminate them to come in second. It just all depends. Being that there is over five hours between when they came in and the first place team, Peter and Sarah, they certainly aren’t dead yet.

Peter and Sarah leave the pit stop at 12:54 PM with him saying he’s confident they’ll continue to do well, as even on their worst day, they’re better than some of the other teams. And even on those other teams’ worst day, Peter, they have more heart than you’ll ever have. Sorry, but that guy rubs me the wrong way. He also says he has to be very cautious of pushing Sarah too hard on her knee. Sarah says the previous leg was tough. She got very frustrated not being able to keep up and knew he was getting frustrated with her. They receive a video clue from a handheld video player, telling them to buy airline tickets from a travel agent to fly to Kuwait City. Once there, they’ll get in a marked car and find the landmark that is pictured on the video player.

Dustin and Kandice leave at 1:06 PM. Seeing Phil’s smiling mug on the video, they ask, “What’s up, Phil?” They say today as they leave that when you come in at the front of the group, some people look at you like they’re jealous. No one wants to be beaten by a couple of blonde girls. I don’t think it’s the color of their hair. I think it’s their dirty play. Peter and Sarah have reached the travel agent, and he’s telling them it’s a medical emergency for them to get to Kuwait because of her leg. Yeah, if I’m American and looking for medical treatment, the first place I’m headed is Kuwait. Dustin and Kandice arrive at a different travel agent, and are asking for flights for “Miss California” and “Miss New York.” They both get flights that will have them arriving in Kuwait City at 7:50 AM. Peter and Sarah ask the agents to use their internet to look up the landmark in Kuwait City they need to find.

Rob and Kimberly leave at 1:42 PM and, as he’s looking for directions to a travel agent, he’s yelling, asking for people to speak to him in English. Remember, he’s the one that has given up talking to “foreigners.” He says he is a dramatic person sometimes, and it gets him into trouble. When he just speaks freely, it’s sometimes not good. The first step is admitting you have a problem, Rob.

Erwin and Godwin (for all these weeks so far, I thought his name was Edwin!) leave at 1:53 and wait ten minutes before they take off in order to travel with Lyn and Karlyn, talking about the serious alliance they have going with Alabama and Kentucky. As Lyn and Karlyn turn on their video clue, they exclaim, “It’s Phil!” They have one goal right now, and that’s to be in the end with the Cho brothers and Kentucky. As the two teams leave at the same time they discuss Kentucky’s plight.

Rob and Kimberly get a little bit of good luck, getting a travel agent who has not only lived in Kuwait, she also speaks English for Rob. Showing her the picture on the video, she informs them it’s Kuwait Towers. Tyler and James leave at 3:37 PM and say that leaving in sixth place was a dagger in their sides. They had no idea they were in sixth place at the time. They know now they can’t stop or let up. Not sure how to find the landmark, James holds the video device to his ear like a phone, and says, “Phil, how do we get to Kuwait?” While Rob and Kimberly are getting the same flight that is taking the beauty queens and Peter and Sarah, we find they’ll land in Bombay, then connect to Kuwait City on a flight leaving at 11:00 PM. Tyler and James somehow reach a flight that has them leaving earlier at 8:00 PM, but still connecting at some point in Bombay. It looks like they’ll have a big lead.

David and Mary leave last, at 6:04 PM, and she looks at the video player, exclaiming she’s never had one of those in her life. The thirty minute penalty is particularly scary to her because of the competitors they’re facing. As Tyler and James leave on their flight, David and Mary arrive at the travel agent, and I’m not sure how this worked out, but the Chos and Alabama are there waiting for them, urging the travel agents to get them on the same flight. First, there was a time difference of four hours between them, and secondly, how did Kentucky know to go to this travel agent? I give Chos and Alabama a lot of credit for hanging around for four hours inside a travel agency, waiting for the rest of their alliance.

Tyler and James land in Bombay, and as they’re waiting for their connecting flight, they see the other six teams arrive to wait for the same flight. They went from second to last place to first, to tied with everyone else, just like that. The other four teams hop in the cars and take off, looking for Kuwait Towers, but the Chos and Kentucky hang back, waiting for Alabama, as one of them forgot their bag.

Rob flips off Tyler and James as he and Kimberly drive past them. Looking around at the contryside, Peter says that sixteen years ago, what happened here is what started Saddam’s downfall. Kandice says that her dad fought here in the war when she was 7 or 8 years old. I wonder if the TPTB planned it this way on purpose. A few weeks ago the racers were in Viet Nam where David’s father fought, and now they’re in Kuwait where Kandice’s father fought. Having two places on the itinerary where it’s likely that racers have fathers that have fought there doesn’t seem coincidental.